Method of burning oil as gas



1935- c. B. HILLHOUSE METHOD OF BURNING OIL A5 GAS Filed July 10, 1953 gwmntom Cfiar/es B. H-r'///7quse. w

Patented Jan. 8 1935 i 5 i s-UNITED iii-STATES RATE N T Z F FITGE ZQL METHODTOFTBURNINGIDILQAS GAS 1 Charls Ba 'fiillhous'e', New York, N; Y. it ApplieationJul-yJl), 1933, Serial No. 679,767 5 r 13-dGlaims. (01;: 158 -11175) Myrinventionirelates to;azmethod ofiburningaoil z.tional-meansareprovided tomaintain the gasified 4.; as. gas; anchmore partioularlyi to anmethodnfon ,oil ina-heated stateauntilthegasifiecl oilandigases combustion. of, oil wherein-5a portion of the fuel to of partial combustion are mixed with sufficient-air l be burned, preferably oil OI'LOthSIf hydrocarbon, iSzT' in the main-:fuelburnerx: This: additional means 5 :caused toacombiust in :a-imanner toz 'produceshotmmayt comprise, air; that;;has been 'preheatedrby: 5

combustible::gaseszzwhiohrtare;mixed atza suitable? PlT I ity (707213118: partial combustion "ZOneifQr-the t 2 temperatureswim'a larger-portion of fuel .to gasifyitpurposeof maintaining a reduced temperature it and thesemiXedgasesma-Sr beburnedwitmsufli nvthereof ;r;and-- which'xair', so preheated, ist'applied cient air at -some :distanc'e fromihezzone ofrgasi-lr. andused tot-maintain themain portion oflgasified fication torproducethezmaimzone ofscombustionmioil in a suitably heated-state; byaindirect; :heat

i =A,main. object Of;17hB"i'!I]/18I1fi0l1 is to provide awexehange relation-thereto: preferably as a 'hot -;:method; wherein aportion either fuel;-;preferably= -i e et arou d he miXed T i 'P .oil, is heatediandxburnedsas zwpteliminaryastep i is fi y u d, all OI part-'by'vbeing with insufiicient air for completezcombustion so as .--miXed into thezmade gases in'rthe a burner 01' x15 to produce combustible gas; and thenmixing the :bur-ners;, which; owing tothe application of'heat 15 :Ehot products of partialzcombustion andgasmixed: as a Surrounding ja w y 'pos ed at a therewith intimately with: another portion ofi iueld a from the gasifierd s rib d; b p to g'asifyithe(latterportionaandrburmng the'gase-wQdueingxamore efiicient method of combustion; If

yous ..mixture:rwith :sufficientl;sairmpreferablmaprea th distance between-the P t f sification and w .heatedaforrcomplete combustion in az-mainazcomwvthe burner-is short and amp e me eappli du ybustiomchamber. p to pr event material loss of heat fromathezgas mix- -.:.1;Another.: object is ;tha.t of;gasifying-lthennain 1. :Lm y d p s rwith the use of the heat portion of oil and maintaining .thategasifiedloil DD1.ied aszasurroundin J et.

s, in za suitablfyheatedzstatecwhile. miXedmith the In the 3Ce Da Y i ,1 gases-:formedby therpartialxcombustioni ofnthe urFigure l shows an elevation inicrosst-section 0t;

so smallerxportion of, oil ;untilrthermixture is er-la il. urn r nstru d t a y utrth m th d .cl.-mittedi toemeet-upreheated air inithejbumlelff017-- burners. .i Fig. -2 shows a. cros ssection on-.:line 2.--2- of Another object is to control thestemperature of. Fig. ligand ggfthe gases formedbyzpartial combustion soithat, Sign BLshov'vs a cross isection-on line 3-3 of twhentheclarger; portion of oilz-is'zsprayed onmixed v- Fig. 1.' v mwiththesegases mherez will-besuflicient'sensible ,L In. the preferred form of apparatus. shown, a. heat in the gases to gasify-the'mainnportion o fzoilni gasificationchamber liis shown as having an outbut not enough sensibleiheat to-cause any-detri-, erheatinsulating=Wall,2.and anrinner refraotory i" 3 :mental :deposition of carbon atwtheitime or point ;.wall. 3 to provide an airleonductingispace 4 J' I'he-i q\ ,-portionofoil to be gasifiediisxconductedthrough a;

.' of mixingaparticularlyzwherethe:burners earea,sma1ler.,.portion of oilsthat is to, be burned to situated at sa' distance .from'rthepoint' ofproduc "produce'combustible gas is supplied under asuittion. 4-;-.,.-ableipressure.from ar conduit-5 into a spray. tube -The-presentapplication-an process-follows n ,1;- bysmeans Of-all injecting device 7.,mThe tube 6 40 generaliwayltheiplfocessdisclosed mime-coplanar :leadsinto chamber 1 and .the oilspraytherefrorn 40 i PP PTO-"65031017; filed y: is-rconductedathrough a spirally arr-angedpipe 8 7; 1933? andfisfatcontmuafion pantitherfeofi kinto aazburner i9 to which it isvfed iromamozzle su carries-011M118 methOd m Wsflmewhat idlfllri hisi Oil is preheated in Ispiralpipei8-1which "manner mthe'present :esurrounds thespartialr' zcombustionwzone' above -burner 94 A blower 11 supplies air. to'aa'conduit' to ,--,preheatithis smaller. portion of oil before it isrdisn e m alr'feedplpe' 1 wlthm burner chargedfimortheizonewhere thisnsmangrflportimf A 'valvelaserves tocontrol-air supply to burner of.- oil is partiallywomhusted; InpfOVide also a 9, in suificient amount to cause partial 'combus means in ithe .form ofnspirally arrangedscoo ling 1 that IO 'a r isrused to-jburria'll the e-coils loeated ina manner .toregulaterthe tempera- A Carbon in that portion of oil tQ'COfbIlt not enough nture of the; hot gases of-partial-fcombustion.and; i air to combust the yd make y' zthereby indireetly the temperature atmvhich the! Airirom ipip'e. 14-. .draws in heated oil from the I 5551 larger portion of to'ilg orriuel, issg'asifiedl Addi- .spira18 alt-the throat'lO of nozzle 10*." If desired,

starting of burner 9 may be facilitated by heating oil in pipe 8 with electric heating coils therein.

Air from conduit 12 enters the space 4 at inlet 16 and passes upwardly around the heated wall 3 to become preheated. Air from the blower 11 passes also through a conduit 17 and valve 18 and an inlet 19 into a spirally arranged conduit 20 that surrounds the zone of combustion from burner 9. The air in conduit 20 extracts heat from this zone of combustion in an amount regulated by valve 18 and leaves the conduit 20 by an outlet 21 which communicates with the space 4.

The preheated air in space 4 passes upwardly and is conducted along a path to surround the.v

gas outlet conduit being confined in a space 23 formed between the conduit 22 and a heat insulated wall 24. The gases from chamber 1 pass upwardly through an outlet throat into'conduit 22. The larger portion of oil fuel is supplied from a pipe 26 under pressure, if desired, and is sprayed into the throat 25 by means of an air injecting device the air flow through which is controlled by valve 28.

Oil sprayed into throat 25 is gasified and is maintained in a gasified state by application thereto of heated air in the space 23 which air functions as a heated insulating medium, hence this oil gas may be efficiently conducted an appreciable distance from the chamber 1 to a suitable burner 29 or auxiliary burners 29'. Heated air from the space 23 is supplied to the burner through air inlet and the oil gas is supplied through gas inlet 31.

The air passing through spiral conduit 20 serves to draw off excess heat from the gases of partial combustion in chamber 1 before having the larger portion of oil fuel sprayed into these gases at the throat 25 so that the mixture will assume the exact temperature desired. The tempera ture of the gases and gasified oil admitted to the make any CO2, although all of the carbon is a burned to form CO. The zone of combustion is indicated by dotted lines A--B. Air from conduit 1'7 is forced through the spiral conduit 20 .to be preheated and extract heat from the hot gases of partial combustion. This air is then passed into space 4 and out of the gas generator and into the space 23 to surround the conduit 22. There is little or no interchange of heat between the hot air jacket and the made gases when not over' 200 degrees F. difference in temperature exists between them when only a short time has elapsed for transfer of the gas to the burner. The major portion of oil fuel from conduit 26 is sprayed into the throat 25 and is gasified and is maintained in that form due to the stabilizing action of heated air in the space 23 surrounding this gas. This heated air all or in part, in turn, is supplied to 1 the burner 29 to mix with made gases admitted from fuel inlet 31.

The temperature to be aimed at for the mixture of sprayed oil and gases of partial combustion should be about 600 degrees F. so as to be secure from any carbon deposition. To prevent any breakdown of the unstable oil gases before reach ing the burner 29, the pipe 22 conveyingthe above mixture is encased in another pipe 24 making a. double shell. The hot air between these shells is maintained at about 450 degrees F. Due to the relation of made oil gas and heated air and the stabilizing action of the heated air upon the temperature of the oil gas, the oil gas may be conveyed to a burner or burners located at some distance from the gasifier without appreciable change in character of the final mixture of generated oil gases. One of the essential features of this process is to control the temperature of the axial zone of gases of partial combustion A-B so that when the larger portion of oil is sprayed into them, there will be enough sensible heat in the gases to gasify the oil but not enough to cause any deposition of carbon. This is brought about by the cooling effect of the air which is passed through the 'spiralconduit 20.

. This gasification does not make a fixed gas but the gas or gases are permanent so long as they arekept at a temperature sufliciently high to prevent their liquification. For instance gasoline is a gas at its temperature of distillation but at atmospheric pressure and normal temperature takes a liquid form. So what I am doing when I apply generated hot combustible gas to a spray of oil, when the resulting or final temperature is about 650 degrees F., is to gasify the oil and not merely vaporize it. Therefore, I propose to keep that latter gas at a temperature above its reversion point, and burn a mixture of true gases in the burners, though it is not necessarily a mixture of fixed gases at atmospheric pressure and normal temperature.

The temperature of the hot gases of partial combustion may be from 900 degrees to 1000 degreesF. at the instant of spraying oil into same, but the-temperature of conversion or lowest temperature after production of the mixture of gases will be not over about 650 degrees, whereby there will be no tendency to produce deposition of carbon as might occur at higher temperatures than 650 degrees F.

While the'ap'paratus disclosed is intended to illustratea preferred form of the apparatus, it is to be understood that variations thereof are contemplated such as will be embraced within the scope of the appended claims. I

" What I claim is:

1. A method of burning .fluid fuel which consists inpreheating a portion of oil in a burner and then reducingit to carbon monoxide and hydrogen by partial combustion, spraying into said reduced portion while in a heated state a portion of fluid fuel,- applying additional heat to the mixture to maintain the fuel in a gasified state, and then burning this mixture with suflicient air for complete combustion.

2. A-method of burning fluid fuel which consists in reducing by partial combustion a portion of "oil -to form carbon monoxide and hydrogen gases, lowering the temperature of said formed gases, mixing into said gases a portion of liquid fuel to gasify it and then burning this mixture of gases with sufiicient air for complete combustion.

3. A method as set forth in claim 2 wherein the mixture of gases is burned at a point remote from the mixing point, and heat is supplied to the mixture to maintain the gasesin gaseous form until the point of final combustion is reached.

4. "A method of burning fluid fuel which consists in reducing by partial combustion a portion of oil to form carbon monoxide and hydrogen gases, extracting a portion of the sensible heat from said gases, then mixing with said gases a larger portion of fluid fuel to gasify it at a temperature which will not permit deposit of carbon using the extracted heat to maintain the mixture in gaseous form to prevent its reversion to a liquid form and burning said mixture with air for complete combustion.

5. A method of burning oil which consists in reducing by partial combustion a portion of the oil to form a combustible gas, passing a cooling medium in indirect contact with said gas to lower the temperature thereof, mixing another portion of oil into said gas to form additional gas and applying the heated cooling medium as a jacket around the mixture of gases to prevent reversion of any component thereof to liquid form, and burning said mixture with air for complete combustion.

6. A method as set forth in claim wherein the cooling medium is air, and a portion of the heated cooling medium is mixed with the gaseous mixture to produce complete combustion thereof.

7. A method of burning oil which consists in reducing by partial combustion a portion of the oil to form a hot combustible gas, spraying into said gas another portion of the oil to form a mixture of gases, conducting said mixture along a predetermined path to a burner, applying heat to said mixture throughout its movement along said path to maintain the temperature of the mixture of gases above their dew points and below the point at which carbon deposition might take place and burning said mixture with air for complete combustion.

8. A method as set forth in claim 7 wherein the heat applied to maintain the temperature of the mixture is extracted from the hot combustible gas prior to mixing same with the sprayed oil.

9. A method of burning oil which consists in gasifying by partial combustion a portion of the oil in a retort, conducting the heated gasified portion to a burner remote from the retort, spraying into said heated gasified portion another portion of the oil to gasify the latter portion to form additional gas, applying sufficient heat to the mixture of gases prior to the burning thereof to prevent any reversion of gas to a liquid form and burning the mixture with air for complete combustion.

10. A method of burning liquid fuel, which consists in preheating a portion of oil in a burner and then reducing it to carbon monoxide and hydrogen by partial combustion without deposit of carbon, then mixing into said reduced portion while in a heated state a portion of liquid fuel to gasify same, and then burning this mixture with suflicient air for complete combustion.

11. A method of burning liquid fuel in a retort which comprises feeding oil to the retort without air and preheating same, then adding air in amount insufi'icient for complete combustion of the oil and partially burning this oil soas to produce carbon monoxide and hydrogen gases, mixing a portion of liquid fuel with said gases while in a heated state to gasify same and burning the mixture with secondary air suificient for complete combustion.

12. A method of burning liquid fuel in a retort which comprises feeding oil to the retort without air and preheating same, then adding air in amount insuificient for complete combustion of the oil, burning said oil and air partially without deposit of carbon to produce carbon monoxide and hydrogen, preheating another portion of oil by heat from this partial combustion, mixing a portion of liquid fuel with the heated gaseous products of partial combustion to gasify same and burning the combined gaseous products with additional air sufficient for complete combustion of the final mixture.

13. A method of burning oil in a retort which comprises feeding a portion of oil to the retort without air and preheating said oil, then adding air in amount insufiicient for complete combustion of the oil, burning said oil and air partially to produce carbon monoxide and hydrogen gases, mixing another portion of oil with said gases while in a heated state to gasify same, mixing additional air sufficient for complete combustion of the gases with the gaseous mixture and burning the final mixture.

CHARLES B. HILLHOUSE. 

